President of the Storting Masud Gharahkhani speaking at the event in the Eidsvoll Gallery on 6 March. Photo: Storting
Portraits of pioneering women hung in the Eidsvoll Gallery
Two of the Storting’s first women Members of Parliament (MPs), Anna Rogstad and Karen Platou, have been given their rightful place on one of the walls in the Eidsvoll Gallery.
“It’s long overdue that there are portraits of women on display in the Eidsvoll Gallery. The first female Substitute MP, Anne Rogstad, and the first regular female MP, Karen Platou, paved the way for women in politics. They deserve our acclaim. And this means they must be visible,” said the President of the Storting, Masud Gharahkhani.
The event in the Eidsvoll Gallery on 6 March was presided over by Marie Melgård from the Parliamentary Press Club, and included a conversation between Heidi Nordby Lunde (Conservative Party) and Marian Hussein (Socialist Left Party) on the importance of representation. Photo: Storting
The Storting’s Presidium made the decision to move the two paintings from their original position outside the Lagting Chamber into the Storting’s representation room. For over a century, the Eidsvoll Gallery has cast a spotlight on major milestones in the history of Norwegian democracy by exhibiting paintings of key politicians. Women’s participation in politics has now also become part of that history.
Two of the Storting’s first women Members of Parliament (MPs), Anna Rogstad and Karen Platou, have been given their rightful place on one of the walls in the Eidsvoll Gallery.
Anna Rogstad
Anna Rogstad was a pioneer of the Norwegian women’s movement, and was a key figure in the fight for women’s suffrage. By profession, Rogstad was a teacher, and – in addition to her efforts in the women’s movement and as a national politician – it was as one of the leaders of the women’s teachers’ union that she made her mark. Rogstad joined the Labour Party in 1917.
Eivind Torkjelsson and Christine Rahn from the Storting’s administration moving the portrait of Anna Rogstad from the Central Hall to the Eidsvoll Gallery. Photo: Storting
Karen Platou
In 1921, Karen Platou became the first woman to be elected to the Storting as a regular MP. This was a fresh milestone for women’s political representation. Platou represented the Conservative Party, and was elected as Kristiania’s fifth Member of Parliament from a joint list her party fielded with the Liberal Left Party. Having previously been a Substitute MP, she took her seat as a regular MP in January 2022. Platou was the first of six women to be elected as MPs before World War II.
Platou was one of few qualified women architects at the time. She had also worked as a secretary for Oslo Hjemmenes Vel, a conservative homemakers’ association, which was the forerunner of the Norwegian Housewives' Association.
Gunnar Knudsen
The two portraits have replaced the painting of former Prime Minster Gunnar Knudsen, which had previously been on display in the Eidsvoll Gallery. This canvas can now be seen on the Storting building’s 4th floor.
The President of the Storting watching the mounting of the two women’s portraits in the Eidsvoll Gallery. Photo: Storting
Last updated: 17.03.2025 09:52